Tobacco cutting and separating machine



m, 23, 1923. mmww J. H. BAKER TOBACCO CUTTING AND SEPARATING MACHINE Filed Dec. '27, 192o 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 @ck. 23, m3. www

J. H; BAKER TOBACCO CUTTING AND S EPARATING MACHINE Filed Dec.. 27, 1920 4 Sheetg-Sheet 2 m. 23,1923. mwzw J. BAKER TOBACCO CUTTING AND SEPARATING MACHINE Filed Dec. 27. 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet s gvwemtoz m. 23, 1923.. mmsfi J.. H. BAKER TOBACCO CUTTING AND SEPARATING- MACHINE Filed Dec. 27 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet Patented Get. 23, 1923.

osursn st rs J OHN H. BAKER, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

TOBACCO CUTTING AND SEPARATING MACHINE.

Application filed December 27, 1920. Serial No. 433,275.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN H. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco Cutting and Separating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a combined shredding and separating machine for cutting leaf tobacco into small pieces and for separating the leaf particles from the stems, and it also includes means for separating dirt and foreign substances from the tobacco. The machine is intended particularly for making what is known as scrap filler which is now largely used for the cheaper grades of cigars.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the shredder and separator, a part of the side wall of the separator being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is an end view, looking from rlght to left, in the previous figures;

Fig. 4. is an end elevation of the shredder or cutter; and, v

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the shredder, a part of its casing and also of the screen being broken away.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, of the drawing, A indicates a casing which is suitably formed to enclose and support the separator mechanism. A partition 2 is arranged transversely of the casing near one end, and this partition with the adjacent walls of the casing. form a compartment or pocket 3 for receiving sand, dirt, etc-., which may be mingled with the tobacco leaves when they are brought to the machine for shredding. Above the compartment 3 is arranged a screen 4 which extends across the casing and serves as a'support on which the -tobacco leaves are laid and shaken before being fed to the shredder. Any sand or dirt which may fall from the leaves when laid on this screen will pass into the compartment 3 and be received in a removable trough 5 in the lower Part of the casing. A floor 6 inclines upwardly from the top of the easing from a point adjacent the screen 1 and above the partition 2, this floor being suitably supported by a cross-piece 7 and standards 8. The floor is grooved longitudinally, as indicated at 6. An endless conveyer 5, extends around the ends of the floor 6, this stituted as desired. The shaft 17 is proconveyer' consisting of endless chains 9, connected by spaced rods 10, said chains passing around pairs of sprocket Wheels 11 and 12. The cross bars or rods 10 of the conveyer pass along the upper side of the floor 6, either-resting upon it or close to it, and these bars carry the tobacco leaves from the screen 4 to the top of the elevator from whence the leaves drop into a chute 13 which directs the material into a hopper 14 in a casing c, which encloses a shredder Or cutter 0. During the travel of the tobacco up the inclined floor 6, any loosely adhering sand or dirt which leaves the tobacco will find its Way into the grooves 6 and be car ried by gravity into the compartment 3 and thence to the trough 5. The sprocket wheels 11 and 12 are mounted upon shafts 15 and 16 respectively and the shaft 15 is operated through the connections hereinafter described so as to move the conveyer in the di motion of the arrow, Fig. 1.

The shredder is shown in detail in Figs. 4: and 5, and it embodies the casing 0, open at the bottom and having the hopper 14: at the top. Within the casing is arranged the shredder or cutter c. The shredder, as shown, comprises a shaft 17, rotatable in suitable bearings in the ends of the casing and carrying a cylinder 18, composed of a series of wooden disks 18 pressed together and having between them grooves which enclose metal blades 19. These blades are strung on the shaft 17 and their ends project beyond the cylinder, as shown, and the disks 1.8 are arranged so that the projecting ends of the knives are spirally arranged throughout the length of the cylinder. Below the cylinder is arranged a support 20, to which are fixed vertically arranged blades 21, spaced so that the blades 18 will pass between them as the cylinder is rotated. Surrounding the cylinder is a screen 22, having openings 22, preferably of rectangular form and of suitable size to permit the small pieces of tobacco to pass through. This screen is made removable so that screens having openings of various sizes may be subvided at one end with a pulley 23, by which the shaft and the cylinder carrying the knives may be rotated and this pulley constitutes the drive pulley for the entire mechanism. The tobacco leaves and stems-dropped 10 into the hopper 14 from the conveyer 7) are out and shredded by the rapidly revolving knives of the shredder, and pieces of tobacco small enough to pass through the screen drop into the casing A upon an inclined floor or chute 24, which directs the material into the central part of the casing in front of a fan 0. This fan mounted upon a shaft 25, which is driven from the cutter shaft by a belt 26 passing around pulleys 27 and 28 on said shafts, respectively. The fan is partially enclosed by a housing29 and it rotates in the direction of the arrow, 1, A floor or way, in'three sections, 30, 30, and 30 inclines upwardly from the lowerpart of the fan housing and any material flowing from the cutter in front of the fan is driven upwardly along this way by the air current from the fan. The light lea-f particles, free from. stems, will be carried beyond the uppermost' section 30 of the way by the air draft and will fall into a pocket 31, the bottom of which is formed by a trough 32. A short part of one end of this trough is composed of a screen, as shown at 32% Within the trough is arranged a spiral conveyer 33, which is kept in continual operation by the connections hereinafter described, and this conveyer carries the material deposited in the trough to the screened end 32? of the trough, from whence it falls into a compartment 34 in the casing and may be removed through a door 35.,- Dust carried upward with the line material passes out of the-casing through a screen 36. The tobacco stems or pieces of stem free from tobacco leaf which fall from the shredder in front of the fan, being relatively heavy, ,will be carried by the air draft only part way upward on the slide or way, to the section 30 thereof, and will gravitate into a trough 37 in which is arranged a worm conveyer 38, which is kept in constant motion and carries the stems to an outlet inthe side of the casing from whence they may be collected in bags attached to a suitable bag-holder, indicated in dotted lines at 39. Any pieces of stems with leaf attached, which are carried by the air blast farther than the stem pieces alone and not as far as the leaf pieces alone, will pass upward as far as the slide section 30*. This section is hinged to the section 30- and may be set at a steeper angle by suitable adjusting means, such as bolts extending through arcuate slots 40 in the side walls of the casing. These pieces of stem with leaf attached will gravitate on the section 30* into a trough41, in which is arranged a worm conveyer 42, for conveying the material to an endless conveyer arranged in an upwardly inclined casing 43. This endless conveyer comprises a chain 44, to which are connected spaced bars or flights 45, and the chain passes around a sprocket wheel 46 on the shaft 15 and a similar sprocket Wheel 47 on the shaft 48 Which operates the worm conveyer 42. The flights or bars 45 in their upward movement travel upon or close to the bottom of the enclosing casing 43, and the pieces of stem and tobacco are carried up by these flights and drop into a chute 49,

which leads into the hopper 14 "of theicutter,

tion 30 of the inclined way, into the pocket i -31 while the stems fall on the section 30 of the way and gravitate into the trough 37,

from whence they are ejected from the machine. I

As previously described, the power for operating the machine is applied by a belt to thepulley 23, on the shaft 17 ofthe shredder, this belt being indicated at 50, in

3. Power is transmitted from the shredder shaft 17 to the fan shaft 25 by the belt 26, Fig. 3, and the shaft 25 drives an idle shaft 52 by means'of a cross-belt 53 which passes around pulleys 54 and ,55 on said shafts, respectively. The shaft 52 has a pulley 56, which is connected by a belt57 to a pulley 58 on the shaft 48 of the worm conveyer 42, and operates the latter. A belt 59 extends around a pulley 60 on the shaft 48 and around a pulley 61 on a shaft 62, which carries the conveyer 33, thence around a pulley 63, on a shaft 64, which earries the conveyer 38, and thence around an idle pulley 65. With this arrangement,

the'worm conveyers 33, 38, and 42 are operated. The shaft 48 drives the conveyer f and this conveyor in turn drives the shaft 15 and the conveyor bis operated from said latter shaft.

It is believed that theoperation of the combined shredder and separator will be clear from theforegoing, without further description. Y

What I claim is:

1. In a. tobacco shredding and separating mechanism, a screen for receiving the tobacco leaves, a longitudinally grooved floor inclined upwardly from said screen, a conveyer for moving the leaves upwardly on said floor, a shredding mechanism arranged to receive the leaves from the upper end of said floor and adapted to cut the leaves, and means for separating the leaf particles from the stem particles.

2. In a tobacco shredding and separating mechanism, a casing, means for shredding the tobacco leaves and delivering the product into the casing-z, an inclined floor within the CEISIILI, awtrough extending-transversely of the floor intermediate its ends. a fan for blowing the cut material upwardly over said floor. and means for returningthe material which enters said trough to the shredding means.

. 3. Ina tobacco shredding and separating mechanism, a casing, means for shredding the tobacco leaves and delivering the product into the casing, an inclined floor within the casing, two troughs extending transversely of the floor at difierent distances from the lower end, a fan for blowing the cut material upwardly over said floor, means for returning the material which enters the upper one of said troughs to the shredding means, and means for ejecting from the cas ing the material which enters the lower trough.

4. In a tobacco shredding and separating mechanism, a casing, means for shredding the tobacco leaves and delivering the product into the casing, an inclined floor, in several sections, within the casing, the uppermost section being adjustable as to its angle of lnclination, troughs transversely arranged between sald sections, conveyers in said troughs, and means for maintaining an upward blast of air over said sections.

5. In a tobacco shredding mechanism, a stationary horizontally arranged cylindrical screen having an opening in its upper part, a fixed series of knives within the lower part of said screen, a rotatable cylinder within the screen having a series of radially projecting knives movable in planes between the fixed knives, and a hopper for feeding the tobacco into the space between the cyl inder and screen.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN H. BAKER 

